SMS & Phone
How to Validate SMS Phone Numbers in GoHighLevel
By Marnix Geerkens. Published 2024-02-08. Updated 2026-06-02.
GoHighLevel can validate a phone number before sending a text, which prevents SMS credits from being wasted on landlines, disconnected numbers, or invalid entries. The setting lives in different places depending on whether your sub-account uses Twilio or LeadConnector, and each validation costs $0.005 per number checked.
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Summary. This tutorial explains how to turn on phone number validation in GoHighLevel to avoid sending SMS messages to numbers that cannot receive texts. For Twilio sub-accounts the setting is found in the agency-level phone integration panel, while LeadConnector sub-accounts find it inside the sub-account's own Business Profile settings. When a number fails validation, GoHighLevel automatically marks it as Do Not Disturb for SMS.
What you will learn
- Why validating numbers reduces wasted SMS spend
- Where to find the setting for Twilio sub-accounts
- Where to find the setting for LeadConnector sub-accounts
- What happens to a contact when their number fails validation
- What the per-validation cost is and how to weigh it against the savings
Steps
Decide which phone system your sub-account uses
Log in to your agency account and check whether the sub-account is on Twilio or LeadConnector. The location of the validation toggle differs between the two.
Enable validation for a Twilio sub-account
Go to the agency-level settings, click Phone Integration, find the sub-account using Twilio, and click its Edit button. Toggle on 'Validate phone numbers when contact is created' and save.
Enable validation for a LeadConnector sub-account
Inside the sub-account, go to Settings and then Business Profile. Scroll down until you see 'Validate phone numbers when first SMS is sent to a new contact' and enable that checkbox, then click Update.
Understand the outcome for invalid numbers
When validation detects a number that cannot receive SMS, GoHighLevel sets that contact to Do Not Disturb for text messages, so no further SMS attempts are made.
Tips
- At $0.005 per validation, the cost is nearly always cheaper than repeatedly sending texts to a dead number across a long workflow.
- LeadConnector is the recommended phone system for new sub-accounts. If you are still on Twilio, consider migrating to take advantage of the integrated billing.
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Frequently asked questions
What does validation actually check?
It confirms the number is a real, active mobile line capable of receiving SMS.
Is there a way to reverse the Do Not Disturb flag if a number was wrongly flagged?
Yes. Open the contact record and manually clear the Do Not Disturb SMS setting.
Does validation fire every time an SMS is sent?
For LeadConnector accounts, it fires only on the first SMS to a new contact, not on every message.
Will this catch landline numbers?
Yes. Landlines and VOIP numbers that cannot receive SMS will fail validation and be marked accordingly.